Ranitidine Bismuth Citrate News

TUESDAY, Nov. 15, 2016 – A popular category of heartburn medications – including Nexium, Prevacid, Prilosec and Protonix – may increase your risk of stroke, a new study suggests. Known as proton pump inhibitors (PPIs), these drugs increased people's overall stroke risk by 21 percent, said study lead author Dr. Thomas Sehested. However, the risk appears to be driven by people who take high doses, added Sehested, research director at the Danish Heart Foundation in Copenhagen. "People treated with a low dose of PPIs did not have a high risk of stroke," he said. "Those treated with the highest doses of PPIs had the highest risk of stroke." The extent of risk also depends on the specific PPI taken. At the highest dose, stroke risk ranged from 30 percent for lansoprazole (Prevacid) to 94 percent for pantoprazole (Protonix), the researchers said. Takeda Pharmaceutical, the maker of ... Read more

-- If you've eaten too much or indulged in a food that's greasy, fatty or spicy, you may have an uncomfortable feeling known as indigestion. Here are common symptoms, courtesy of the Cleveland Clinic: A burning sensation in the stomach or upper abdomen. An acidic taste in the mouth. Pain in the abdomen. Occasional diarrhea. Bloatedness or gassiness. Vomiting or nausea. Growling stomach. Read more

WEDNESDAY, April 27, 2016 – Despite reported risks, nearly one in four infants in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) are given stomach acid-suppressing drugs, researchers report. However, they noted that the use of these medications has started to decline some in recent years. A number of studies have linked the use of stomach acid-suppressing drugs in hospitalized high-risk infants with infections, necrotizing enterocolitis (a serious disease where intestinal tissue begins to die off) and increased risk of death, the researchers said. These drugs include histamine-2 receptor antagonists such as ranitidine (Zantac), and proton pump inhibitors such as esomeprazole (Nexium). Researchers at Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, analyzed data from 43 children's hospitals across the United States from 2006 to 2013. They found that nearly 24 percent of roughly 122,000 newborns ... Read more

TUESDAY, Dec. 2, 2014 – Using antacids to control acid reflux may improve head and neck cancer patients' chances of survival, a new study suggests. The researchers examined the effects that two types of antacids – proton pump inhibitors and histamine 2 blockers – had on head and neck cancer patients. More than two-thirds of the nearly 600 patients in the study took one or both types of the antacids after their cancer diagnosis. Acid reflux – commonly known as heartburn – is a common side effect of chemotherapy or radiation treatment, according to the researchers. Proton pump inhibitors include drugs such as Prilosec, Nexium and Prevacid, while histamine 2 blockers include drugs such as Tagamet, Zantac and Pepcid. Compared to patients who didn't take antacids, those who took proton pump inhibitors had a 45 percent lower risk of death, according to the researchers. They also found ... Read more

-- When food and drinks interact with medication, the medication may not work sufficiently or the drug can become too powerful as the body has trouble handling it properly. The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics mentions these common examples of food and drug interaction: Grapefruit juice interacts with several drugs and may affect the way the body metabolizes medication. Drugs that may interact with grapefruit juice include: some statins, antihistamines, thyroid medications, blood pressure medications, birth control pills, cough suppressants and medications that block stomach acids. Blood-thinning medications can interact with leafy green vegetables, affecting the blood's clotting ability. Natural black licorice may interact with certain blood pressure medications and blood-thinning medications. Salt substitutes can interact with ACE inhibitors and digoxin. Tyramine (found in foods ... Read more

TUESDAY, Dec. 10, 2013 – People who take certain acid-reflux medications might have an increased risk of vitamin B-12 deficiency, according to new research. Taking proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) to ease the symptoms of excess stomach acid for more than two years was linked to a 65 percent increase in the risk of vitamin B-12 deficiency. Commonly used PPI brands include Prilosec, Nexium and Prevacid. Researchers also found that using acid-suppressing drugs called histamine-2 receptor antagonists – also known as H2 blockers – for two years was associated with a 25 percent increase in the risk of B-12 deficiency. Common brands include Tagamet, Pepcid and Zantac. "This study raises the question of whether or not people who are on long-term acid suppression need to be tested for vitamin B-12 deficiency," said study author Dr. Douglas Corley, a research scientist and gastroenterologist at ... Read more

FRIDAY, March 29 – Patients who take antihistamines to reduce stomach acid are at increased risk for infection with Clostridium difficile, a common cause of diarrhea, a new study finds. Researchers reviewed the findings of 33 previous studies that looked at C. difficile and antihistamines used to suppress stomach acid. People who took over-the-counter antihistamine drugs did not have a significantly increased risk of C. difficile infection. However, a clear link existed between histamine 2 receptor antagonists – a specific class of antihistamines – and C. difficile infection. The risk for people on these drugs – also known as H2 blockers – was greatest for hospitalized patients receiving antibiotics, said the researchers from the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. The study was published online March 27 in the journal PLoS One. "It's not clear why these antihistamines increase the ... Read more

THURSDAY, Jan. 10 – Researchers have developed a scoring system to help doctors determine which hospital patients can be prescribed stomach acid-suppressing drugs to prevent gastrointestinal bleeding and which patients should not be given such medications. Gastrointestinal bleeding in hospital patients is rare, but it is dangerous and potentially fatal, according to the study authors. Although the use of acid suppressants to prevent gastrointestinal bleeding in patients who are not critically ill is not widely recommended, the medications are commonly used for this purpose, said Shoshana Herzig and colleagues at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston. The study was published online recently in the Journal of General Internal Medicine. The researchers analyzed data from more than 75,000 hospital patients admitted over three years and found that gastrointestinal bleeding ... Read more

THURSDAY, Sept. 29 – Medications are effective for most patients with acid reflux disease, but some surgical options may be just as effective, according to a review of studies on current treatments for this common condition. Acid reflux disease, also known as gastroesophageal reflux disease or GERD, occurs when the contents of the stomach – including burning acid – chronically spill up into the esophagus, causing heartburn and other symptoms such as a persistent cough, laryngitis and asthma. Acid reflux disease may afflict as many as 4 percent of Americans, resulting not only in a sometimes significant financial drain but also more serious long-term consequences such as esophageal cancer, according to background information in the report released Sept. 23 by the U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research & Quality (AHRQ), part of the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. Obesity, ... Read more

MONDAY, Dec. 20 – Popular heartburn drugs, including proton pump inhibitors and histamine-2 receptor antagonists, may raise the risk of pneumonia, new research finds. Researchers in Korea analyzed the results of 31 studies on heartburn drugs published between 1985 and 2009. "Our results suggest that the use of acid suppressive drugs is associated with an increased risk of pneumonia," said Dr. Sang Min Park of the department of family medicine at Seoul National University Hospital in Korea. "Patients should be cautious at overuse of acid-suppressive drugs, both high-dose and long duration," he added. Sales of these enormously popular drugs – the second best-selling category of medications worldwide – reached nearly $27 billion in the United States in 2005, according to background information in the study, published Dec. 20 in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal). Proton pump ... Read more

FRIDAY, Aug. 21 – Chronic heartburn caused by acid reflux is one of the most common complaints among Americans, and a new study outlines which approaches appear to work best to ease patients' suffering. The Danish study found that people with the condition – formally called gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) – typically feel best when placed on medications called proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) by a doctor with whom they have a good rapport. "The treatment we have isn't always perfect," conceded Dr. Maria T. Abreu, professor of medicine and chief of the division of gastroenterology at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, who was not involved in the study. She agreed that communicating well with patients can go a long way toward increasing their satisfaction, because reflux treatments don't always relieve all symptoms. If doctors said that up front, patients "might be ... Read more